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Last spring, my neighbor Doug walked over to my garden bed holding a mesh bag of onion sets and a confused look on his face. “I bought these at the feed store,” he said. “Now … Read more
Last summer, my neighbor Karen knocked on my door holding a basket of tomatoes from her garden. Beautiful, deep red Brandywines. But she looked worried. “My sister told me these are nightshade vegetables,” she said. … Read more
My uncle used to call lettuce “crunchy water.” Said it was pointless filler. Just something restaurants put on plates to make the food look bigger. He grew tomatoes, peppers, beans—anything with obvious substance. Lettuce? Waste … Read more
Last spring, I harvested about fifteen heads of lettuce in one week. My raised beds had gone wild after an unusually mild winter. I was drowning in greens. So I did what any reasonable person … Read more
I got into an argument at a garden club meeting last spring that I still think about. A newer member was explaining her raised bed layout. She pointed to her potato section and said she … Read more
Last August, I harvested about thirty cucumbers in a single week. The plants went absolutely wild after we got three days of steady rain following a dry spell. I was handing them out to neighbors, … Read more
A woman named Lin taught me about taro at a community garden in San Jose three years ago. She was 74, had been growing vegetables since she was a kid in Taiwan, and she laughed … Read more
I pulled up my first black radish three years ago and almost tossed it in the compost pile. The rough, coal-colored skin looked like something had gone terribly wrong in my garden. My neighbor walked … Read more
My neighbor Maria knocked on my door last summer holding a sad, wilted plant with elephant-ear leaves drooping toward the ground. “I killed my taro,” she said with genuine disappointment. “My grandmother grew this in … Read more
My neighbor Margaret still talks about the time she pulled her first homegrown potato from the soil. She was 67 years old, had gardened for decades, but had never tried potatoes. “I just stood there … Read more
A few years ago, a new gardener in our community plot stared at her neighbor’s raised bed with complete confusion. “What on earth is that?” she asked, pointing at what looked like little green aliens … Read more
My neighbor Tom spent three summers failing at Brussels sprouts. Each year, the same story. Tiny, bitter sprouts the size of marbles. Plants that toppled over in September storms. Leaves eaten to lace by caterpillars. … Read more